Chapter 253: Chapter 253: The Celestial of Giant Ring Star

Lin Shen also paused for a moment, but then laughed and said, “I must have heard wrong.”

He figured the woman might have been secretly living in Yu’s stone hut, and if he insisted there was a woman inside, Yu would find her and ask for rent, which wouldn’t be very nice.

Yu nodded, then cautioned Lin Shen, “After dark, no matter what happens outside, don’t go out.”

“Okay.” Lin Shen returned to his room and saw that the older sister had already awakened and could sit up by herself.

He gave her a bottle of Base Mutation Fluid to drink, and she managed to keep some down, unlike the previous day when she vomited everything up.

“Big sis, you rest up. I’m going to look around. If I don’t come back, don’t open the door for anyone,” said Lin Shen.

“You think after all the years I’ve traveled from the south to the north that I need you to tell me that?” the older sister shot him a look, then added, “First, figure out what the situation is here, especially regarding necessities like food, clothing, shelter, and all kinds of supplies.”

“Understood, big sis.” Lin Shen knew his older sister was not one to sit still; she definitely wanted to start doing business here.

Upon leaving the stone hut and watching his big sister bolt the front door, Lin Shen was about to head in the direction Ximen Swordsman had left, but Yu called out to him.

“Here’s a map of the nearby area. It marks the distribution of Base Variant Creatures within a hundred li, as well as notes on some dangerous zones. It’s yours for one Heavenly Currency. Interested?” Yu said, smiling, as he held out a piece of paper.

“Can I pay later?” Lin Shen asked.

“Of course, you can. Just bring back some good stuff to offset the debt,” Yu readily said, handing over the map and noting down the debt in his little book.

Lin Shen had been here just one day and already owed Yu over a dozen Heavenly Currency.

Lin Shen quickly glanced at the map. It was hand-drawn, simply marking out various regions, what Base Variant Creatures were mainly found in each region, and which areas were more dangerous, all noted in handwriting.

The small village they were in was in the mountains, surrounded by many mountain ranges; just outside the village was a canyon.

Both the mountains and the canyon were home to Base Variant Creatures, with steel creatures in the canyon that likely posed no threat.

The mountains had Crystal-based Creatures and Alloy Creatures, but considering Ximen Swordsman’s physical condition, it was unlikely he could handle the mountains and had probably followed the canyon instead.

Lin Shen summoned the Evil Dragon, ready to ride it to check on Ximen Swordsman’s current condition.

“A flying Crystal Base pet… You actually have a flying Crystal Base pet…” Yu, who had been busy in the village, saw the Evil Dragon Lin Shen had summoned outside the village and his eyes lit up, running out towards it.

“Lin, my man, why didn’t you say you had such a great thing sooner? Are you interested in a partnership, helping me deliver some goods? I’ll pay you ten Heavenly Currency per trip,” Yu said excitedly as he touched the Evil Dragon’s scales.

“Where are the deliveries to, and what’s the cargo?” Lin Shen had initially intended to refuse, but recalling his big sister’s instructions to gather information, he casually asked.

“Of course, they’re up there,” Yu replied, pointing towards the sky. “Otherwise, why would I need your flying pet?”

“Yu, bro, that’s a bit of a tall tale. The Star Belt is a long way from Giant Ring Star. It requires breaking out of the atmosphere, and who knows how many days that round trip would take. And you’re only offering ten currency?” Lin Shen said, curling his lip.

“It’s not too little. If flying pets weren’t so scarce, you wouldn’t even get a chance at this job. Tell you what, I’ll add one more to it, eleven Heavenly Currency per trip,” Yu said somewhat reluctantly.

“Forget it. I’d rather go hunting Base Variant Creatures on my own,” Lin Shen said as he hopped onto the back of the Evil Dragon.

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“Lin, let’s discuss this some more…” Yu didn’t want to give up.

“I need to go check on my friend first, and we’ll talk when I get back,” Lin Shen said, without outright rejecting the suggestion, delaying instead.

“Then we’ll talk when you return. Remember, you must come back before dark, you absolutely can’t stay out overnight…” Yu earnestly reiterated several times.

Lin Shen had originally thought that someone in Ximen Swordsman’s physical condition wouldn’t be going up the mountain.

But who would have known that the kid would actually choose the mountain path? Luckily, Lin Shen had the Evil Dragon to fly in the sky, or else it really wouldn’t have been easy to find him.

Ximen Swordsman was riding a Grey Crystal Triangular Sheep, which galloped across the steep mountain paths as if it were flat land, running at breakneck speed.

However, Ximen Swordsman’s physical condition was terrible, swaying on his mount, nearly getting thrown off several times.

When Lin Shen, riding the Evil Dragon, caught up, he saw Ximen Swordsman facing off against a snow-white, jade-like giant ape.

Lin Shen had assumed that Ximen Swordsman would use his pet to deal with the giant ape, but instead, the man dismounted from the Grey Crystal Triangular Sheep and, wavering unsteadily, charged at the ape.

“Is this guy’s brain not right?” Lin Shen was ready to provide support at any moment.

Unexpectedly, despite being in such poor physical state, Ximen Swordsman was not overcome by the Crystal-based Creature ape.

Ximen Swordsman’s mastery of force was indeed impeccable; the entire fight was about leveraging force, with him barely exerting any effort himself.

When Lin Shen saw the giant ape’s claws pierce into its own chest, he knew his previous worries were indeed unnecessary.

After killing the giant ape, Ximen Swordsman sat down on the ground with a thump. Even though he had relied on leveraging force and not exerted much himself, his body was too weak, and even such a small degree of fighting intensity had left him gasping for breath.

“Lin Shen, I’ll say it again, I didn’t kill the Wan Family’s Ascender for you; I just wanted to test my own abilities, and it has nothing to do with you. Stop following me,” Ximen Swordsman, who had long noticed Lin Shen, said coldly while sitting on the ground.

“I know, and I have no other intentions. I just forgot to give this to you just now,” Lin Shen, jumping down from the Evil Dragon, handed the map to Ximen Swordsman.

“I don’t need it,” Ximen Swordsman coldly declined to take the map, “Lin Shen, I’ll say it again, there is no relationship between us. Don’t think that a little favor can buy me over. If there’s a chance in the future, I would still rob you just the same.”

“It doesn’t matter. Can’t you see I’m just indulging in my hobby of helping others for fun?” Lin Shen directly flicked the map into Ximen Swordsman’s hand.

“No,” Ximen Swordsman replied without hesitation, throwing the map back to Lin Shen without so much as a glance.

Lin Shen, resigned, picked up the map, preparing to leave, when suddenly he noticed something glowing in the sky, moving at a very high speed toward them.

“Celestials!” Ximen Swordsman also noticed the fast-moving glowing object, which soon turned out to be an extremely cool flying vehicle adorned with various streamlines of light.

The flying vehicle came near them and hovered next to the cliff, its top opening like a convertible sports car, with an angelic woman seated within.

She was dressed in glowing Battle Clothes that resembled the Ultraburn Battle Suit but appeared more technologically advanced and elegant in design, certainly sculptured and not just a simple bodysuit.

“Human, your pet looks quite nice. A thousand Heavenly Currency, I’ll take it,” the Celestial said, hovering in the air and eyeing the Evil Dragon beside Lin Shen.

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